The buzz surrounding Silicon Valley titan Hewlett Packard’s decision to sell off its mobile and tablet computer product lines, and perhaps its PC business, is a sign that the US economy is moving even further away from an economy that makes things to one of “services.”

Triple Pundit and I were recently invited to a “virtual conference” sponsored by Dow Chemical. The “Future We Create” love-fest was a meeting of 30 green chemistry thought leaders in academia, industry, and in the non-profit sector.

August 1, 2011, the China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced a national feed-in tariff (FiT) for solar PV. Although details are still being released, the plan looks like a serious first step toward unleashing significant demand for solar PV in China.

Earlier this month PG&E awarded Brocade Communications Systems a $US2.1 million award for Brocade’s 125,000 square food data center in San Jose.

Research at Oregon State University has shown that inkjet printing technology, which has become the standard in our homes and offices, could help solar technology proliferate.

A billion dollar Brazilian firm, Itautec, has aggressively recycled e-waste since 2003, and is stepping up its recycling efforts even more.

Zynga made a huge splash with its IPO, and is the hottest social media property out there–and is one highlight of our social media quarterly.

We are on the verge of watching a disruptive technology on the scale of the printing press, internal combustion engine, and the Internet. 3D printing is the next big thing.